This is a time exposure of the fourth stage exhaust plume. The Minotaur was
launched long after sunset and the ground was in darkness, but the missile had
climbed high enough to be illuminated by sunlight. The vehicle was more than
1,500 statute miles (2,400 kilometers) away when this photo was taken. The
image was taken by Brian Webb from 105 statute miles (169 kilometers)
east-southeast of the launch site.